2013 Skate Canada: Pairs Short Program

by Alexandra Stevenson

Skate Canada is going for a record of holding the competitive events in
a Grand Prix in the shortest possible time. The Pairs Short got underway
at 3pm Friday. The proceedings finish after the scheduled two competitions
in each of the four disciplines with the Mens victory ceremony at 21:55 on
Saturday. Of course, that doesn’t include Sunday’s exhibition. In Skate
America, the events ride over three days. Even the Trophee Bompard in
Paris, which has always held their competition over two days, with the
Exhibition on the Sunday, spreads the events out over a longer number of
hours each day.

This “rushed process” is being done deliberately. A Skate Canada
official explained, “Competition is a very stressful time for competitors.
We want them to get ready and get it over with, with the least amount of
waiting around. We particularly don’t want them having to compete on the
Exhibition Day which can be very draining. This was definitely true of
Mao Asada in Detroit. She not
only had to do her Free on the Sunday, and then talk to the Press about
her performance, she had to introduce the Gala for Japanese television,
and then skate in one of the Final slots. “I don’t see where she got to
rest, or even eat, at all,” one volunteer said.

In Saint John, New Brunswick, on the famed Bay of Fundy with its record
breaking tides, on Thursday, the day of practice before the event, hoards
of children were bused in to successively create an excitement in the Habour Arena, a 6,000-seat facility. It has an enclosed bridge leading to
Atlantic Canada’s longest indoor, climate-controlled “pedway”, which
allows pedestrians to connect virtually the entire uptown and waterfront
core, without stepping outside! That is very useful in a town which
receives a significant amount of rain and fog. The arena, which was built
in 1993, has a cheerful atmosphere emanating from bright blue seats and
surroundings, with an upper layer of emerald green.

Meanwhile the amount of Japanese media reporting on this event is
overwhelming, second only to the host country’s very comprehensive
coverage. The first event was the Pairs’ Short Programs.

The Press conference room was not kind to the Pairs medalists. Just
after they were seated, a small waterfall came down on the gold medalists,
who immediately shot out of their seats. Fortunately, it was just a small
amount of water, but it certainly created a stir!

1. SP 69.57 (37.61+31.96)
MeaganDuhamel, 27, &
Eric Radford, 28, won bronze in the world championship earlier this
year. They are also the Four Continents champions and have held the
Canadian title for the past two years. With her first partner,
Ryan Arnold, Duhamel became the
first to be credited with landing a throw triple Lutz.

Their smiles, today, belie the black feeling both had felt
independently, after the break-ups of their previous partnerships. Duhamel
and Craig Buntin, who had twice
competed in the world championships, were distraught at placing third in
the 2010 nationals but not getting one of the two slots on the Vancouver
Olympic team. Duhamel explained, “It was a dream, I had had for so many
years, to go to the Olympics, and, when it was gone, it seemed like I had
nothing. It was like I ran into a brick wall. I was completely lost.”

Her coach got her a tryout with Radford, who also was on the point of
quitting. It was okay, but not great. But they were persuaded to keep
trying, and they made small advances. Then, in 2012, they won the Canadian
title by a very significant 18 points and, two months later, were fifth in
the world championships. Now, after gaining bronze in the world
championship in London, Ontario, they have even higher hopes.

Skating to music Radford composed in a tribute to his early coach,
Paul Wirtz, who died in 2006,
aged 47 of cancer, they opened with a triple twist, which earned Level 3
with an extra full point over the base value. . Their side-by-side triple
Lutz solo jumps were flawed and they lost -1.40. The Axel Lasso lift was
level 4 with +1.20. The pair combination spin was level 4 with +0.71. She
faltered on the landing of their throw triple Lutz but did not fall and
they lost only a point. They concluded with a Level 3, +1.0 back inside
death spiral.

They were thrilled to be in the lead but in the press conference, a
leaky pipe immediately above Radford’s head discharged a limited amount of
water causing a brief panic. The Canadians were gracious about the
unanticipated surprise. That might not have been the same if the water had
come down on another nation’s competitors. The organizers made sure it
would not happen again by moving slighting the skater’s seating
arrangements.

2. SP 69.38 (39.46+29.92)
Stefania Berton, 23, & Ondrej
Hotarek, 29, Italy, who won bronze in the European championship in
January, skated to music from the movie, “The Mask”. That bronze was the
first medal Italy has ever won in an ISU pair skating championship,
although he is actually from the Czech Republic. They had a great showing
here in Saint John. It was an upbeat program and they looked as if they
were enjoying themselves. And, yes, the bright yellow pants completely
suited the music. She was in a gold outfit.

They began with triple toe loops which earned +0.90. All of their moves
were well done with their lowest GoE +0.60 for their Level 2 triple twist.
The four other moves, which are given Levels, were all the maximum 4.

3. SP 69.02 (39.46+29.56)
Wenjing Sui, 18, & Cong Han,
21, who are from China’s northern city of Harbin, appeared in pretty
outfits. They still look tiny compared to the other couples, and they work
very hard. They are the three time world junior (2010-2012) gold medalists
and 2010 Four Continents champions, who have competed in the world
(senior) championships twice, placing 9th in Nice and 12th
in London, Ontario.

Skating to “La Strada”, they opened with a throw triple flip which had
great air time. Three judges rewarded them for this element with +3s and
the rest gave nothing less than +2.Their solo triple toe loops were good.
And their triple twist got Level 4, but just with +0.10 additional to that
base value. Their reverse Lasso lift gained Level lift was a +0.50, Level
3 but their back inside death spiral was only a +0.70 Level 2.Their steps
were Level 4 with +1.10 and their final element, the pair combination spin
was Level 3 with +0.86.

4. SP 55.08 (31.47+24.54 -1)
Mari Vartmann, 24, & Aaron
van Cleave, 26, represent Germany. He was born in Comox on Vancouver
Island in Canada. His family subsequently moved to the United States, but
he is now applying for a German passport. He originally represented the
United States in the 2007 world championship with Ameena Sheik. He and his
current partner missed last season’s Grand Prix Series after he suffered a
broken cheekbone in a practice accident. They skated immediately following
the second warm-up to Sennen’s “Where the Light Gets In”.

Their triple twist got a “B” for basic and then he fell on the triple
toe. Their throw triple Salchow gained a full point extra. Their Level 4
pair combination spin, Axel Lasso lift and step sequence, all received
Level 4 with positives, but the back inside death spiral was the Basic
with nothing extra.

5. SP 55.01 (31.47+24.54 -1)
Haven Denney, who will turn 18 on October 28, &
Brandon Frazier, who will be 21 on November 19, USA, train in Florida
with John Zimmerman &
Silvia Fontana. They are 2012
US and 2013 World junior champions, who were fifth in US nationals. They
teamed up as roller skaters way back in 2002 and then turned to ice before
breaking up. They got back together in the spring of 2011.

Performing to Malaguena, they began with a Level 2 triple twist and a
superior throw triple loop, but he had a bad fall on their triple Salchows,
which received a double arrow for downgrade to double. Their Axel Lasso
good enough for Level 4 with +0.50 extra. But back inside death spiral was
only “basic”. Their last two elements, the pair combo and the straight
line steps were both Level 4.

6. SP 52.94 (27.36+26.58 -1) Paige Lawrence,23, & Rudi
Swiegers, 26, Canadians who are from Manitoba and Saskatchewan teamed
up initially because they both jump clockwise, while most skater rotate
best anti-clockwise. Since her parents are in the rodeo business, it was
initially thought she would go in that direction but she found her true
calling in skating. It took a couple of years for them to completely gel
but the hard work eventually paid off. They now split their training
between Virden with Patricia Hole and Lyndon Johnston in Ellenton in
Florida. They skated to music from “Oliver” and “I Put a Spell on You”.
But they got off to a bad start. Their opening triple toe loops were
messed up and their triple twist got only the Basic Level. The pair
combination spin was Level 3 and the Axel Lasso lift Level 4. The back
inside death spiral was only Level 2 but the step sequence was Level 4.
But she sat down on the throw triple Lutz.

7. SP 52.69 (28.47+24.22) Lindsay Davis, 21, & Rockne
Brubaker, 27, USA, opened this event. They train in Canton and skated
to “The Little Flower” and “Skolkian African Dance” by Sidney Bechet and
Louis Armstrong. They began with nicely matched triple Salchow jumps which
earned an extra +0.60, but their triple twist received only a “B” for
basic. Their throw triple Salchow lost a minimal -0.30.Their Lasso lift
went up but, when they came to changing the hand hold, they lost support
and she came down. They continued with their pair combo spin which was
good enough to gain the maximum Level 4 as did their steps. They finished
with their back inside death spiral.

8. SP 39.50 (18.64+21.86-1) Margaret Purdy, 18, & Michael
Marinaro, 21, Canada, skating with her in a red dress, to “Unchained
Melody” by Alex North, had an unfortunate showing. They are the 2010
Canadian Junior champions, who won silver in this past season’s World
Junior championships and were fifth at senior level in the Canadian
championships. Today was not their day. Skating fourth, they began with a
low level 1 triple twist. Their side-by-side triple toe loops got an arrow
for slight under-rotation. He didn’t get her airborne for the lift, for
which they earned no points. And she stepped out of the throw triple loop.
The death spiral got a “B” for basic However, the step sequence was Level
3 and the pair combination spin earned the maximum Level 4.